Wisconsin Lutheran's Kon Knueppel, a DI basketball recruit, is guided by parents who were stars as well

Parents night activities before the start of Wisconsin Lutheran's 88-78 win over Pius XI on Thursday concluded with hugs between a high schooler with 688 points entering the night and two parents who combined for 4,028 points across their college careers.

As Wisconsin Lutheran junior Kon Knueppel's recruiting interest heats up – evidenced Thursday by a sighting of Marquette head coach Shaka Smart – his father, also Kon, and mother, Chari Nordgaard Knueppel, are imparting whatever they can from their own experiences. Both parents finished their collegiate careers as the leading scorers in their respective programs, with dad scoring 2,064 for Wisconsin Lutheran College and mom scoring 1,964 for UW-Green Bay.

Seeing their first son going through recruiting visits has been surreal, but their biggest reminder to him is to "keep it fun," the elder Knueppel said. Often their first question for an interested coach before a visit is "What do you do to keep it fun?"

"There’s a lot of pressure for kids with social media and a lot more attention for kids these days," the elder Knueppel said. "Just want to keep him grounded and humble and having fun playing hoops."

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One of the ways Mom and Dad try to keep the pressure down is to limit their postgame feedback, at least initially, to love and support. Dad may take notes, but he will bite his tongue for a day or so.

"We work on it the next night when we’re shooting in the gym with them. It’s never in the car on the way home. It’s 'We love you, we’re proud of you,'" Nordgaard Knueppel said.

Once they get home, however, Mom is the first to speak up.

"Yeah I’ll go home and she’ll want to talk about the game," the younger Knueppel said with a laugh. "My dad won’t even talk about it (for a day)."

Basketball is hard to escape in the household. There are six baskets at or just outside the house, including two that form a mini court in the living room. There are also a pair with three-point arcs outside, with one hoop that can move to form another full-court game. Dad and son will divvy up the younger brothers for three-on-three games, with the eldest taking his two youngest siblings (Kash, 12 and Kidman, 11) while dad gets Kager, 15, and Kinston, 14. The age and experience differences rarely make for a competitively balanced affair, but therein lies a message for the kids.

"Get used to being disappointed, because that’s what sports are about," Nordgaard Knueppel said. "You get disappointed, and that’s why we play it, and then you come back and get better, and it makes winning that much more sweet."

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Mom enjoys watching more these days, but she will also get her shots up several times a week as well.

"We shoot every day with the boys," Nordgaard Knueppel said. "It’s like 'OK, we’re eating dinner at 4:30; tonight at 8:00 we’re going to the gym to shoot. After your practices, after your games, whatever, that’s what we’re doing.' Because our goal is to get better every day."

The younger Knueppel has NCAA Division I offers from Marquette, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Miami (Florida), Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Toledo, USC and Virginia. While he is tight-lipped on narrowing that field this early, he is heeding the advice of dad to take things slowly, as well as mom's reminders to make as informed a choice as possible.

"I want him to gather all the information he can, take as many trips as he can, feel the experience at the campuses, at the games. Watch their film, get to know the head coaches really well," Nordgaard Knueppel said.

While all three have an eye toward the future, staying in the here and now has been something they have reminded discussed throughout the process.

"Enjoying these times here at home when you get to enjoy time with your parents is good, because college is coming up," Knueppel said. "Parent night and stuff like that, I only have one more left, so it’s special."